Loser: Pac-12 Conference

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In what's supposed to be the main event of the conference, the Pac-12 championship will feature a rematch between UCLA and Stanford just six days after their first contest.

Anybody who watched Saturday's game probably has a pretty good idea of how this Friday will turn out. Stanford is playing unbelievable football, and it seems unlikely that the Bruins will be able to challenge the Cardinal away from home.

But most of all, this isn't the matchup that the country wanted to see. There's no doubt that the Bruins and Cardinal earned their places in the game. But wouldn't you rather see USC vs. Stanford or USC vs. Oregon? Even UCLA vs. Oregon, a rematch of last year's game, would probably draw bigger ratings than this year's dud.

On the bright side, the conference will likely place two teams in BCS bowl games. But the level of excitement for the conference title game is mild at best.

Winner: A.J. Tarpley

It's hard to stand out as a linebacker when you line up alongside Chase Thomas and Shayne Skov.

But A.J. Tarpley has been yet another bright spot in Stanford's suffocating front seven, and he had a great game against the Bruins.

Tarpley totaled seven tackles, including two for loss and a sack.

At 6'2" and 238 pounds, Tarpley brings NFL size to an already loaded linebacker corps, and his performance against Jonathan Franklin and the high-powered UCLA offense was a significant reason why they'll play again this Friday.